


I Will Always Find You

by notthekindwithhalos



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3807139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthekindwithhalos/pseuds/notthekindwithhalos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There is a part two!... sitting on my laptop while I procrastinate editing it. Probably will put it up.</p></blockquote>





	I Will Always Find You

Garrus Vakarian stood on the top deck of the Normandy, listening to the almost silent hum of the engines and pacing back and forth. He shouldn’t have come. She was probably busy doing official Spectre things: looking over missions, or writing up reports. Maybe she was sleeping and didn’t want to be disturbed. Either way it was probably better for him to go back to the engine room and recalibrate the guns or something and forget about the whole damned thing. Just as he made the decision to leave, the doors slid open with a muted whir, revealing Shepard silhouetted in the doorway, staring at her omni-tool evidently lost in thought. _Damn._

“Garrus, hey, what’s up? I was just about to come down and see you actually, I need to fill in a request form for supplies and wanted to check if we have enough dextro-food onboard.” She caught sight of him a split second before they narrowly avoided a collision.

“I was wondering if we could talk...” Garrus started, and then broke off. He had no idea how he was supposed to say, and every moment he stood here he felt like a complete fool. The last time he had felt this awkward, it was his first day of basic training and a female turian he had liked kept trying to chat him up.

Shepard merely gestured towards her cabin and followed him in. Garrus always liked being in Shepard’s cabin; it had a soothing and solitary feel to it, as if the entire universe wasn’t imploding just outside, and it was probably the most private place on the ship. It obviously wasn’t comparable to the main battery- Garrus had never been one for extravagance, preferring the warm buzz of machinery and wires, being lost in targeting algorithms and the rhythmic beep of programmes. Shepard’s cabin was nice though. The soft blue light from the fish tank illuminated most of the room, and shadows drifted across the floor from the koi fish Shepard kept as a reminder of home. There were a few papers and datapads strewn across the desk, next to a few picture frames for their friends that hadn’t survived. Muted music was playing from a set of speakers at the back, and the entire room was suspended in a perpetual tranquillity.

Shepard sat down on the sofa, and put her legs up on the table sighing dramatically. “Feels like the first time in weeks I’ve been able to sit down.”

She stretched, and Garrus couldn’t help but admire her physique. She was so different to all the turians Garrus had ever been interested in, all lean muscle and soft curves. She had such delicate skin that every time Garrus touched her he felt so sure she would break under the slightest pressure. Not that she wasn’t tough, she had proven herself to be much stronger than she looked, and they were always fairly evenly matched when they sparred. She was just different, and Garrus loved it. He loved the way she was so expressive- the small half smile when she was happy, the way her entire face moved when she laughed, even the firm steely glare when she was defending something she was passionate about.  He loved the way she unconsciously chewed on her lip when she was thinking something through. He loved the way she talked to him so earnestly as if he was the only one in the room. He had often teased her about how terrible she would be at poker, until she challenged him to a game. After clearing out all of the money he had saved for shore leave, he then had to admit she was full of surprises, more so when he found she spent the money on an upgrade for his rifle and a bottle of brandy to share.

Garrus pulled himself back into the present, as he realised he was staring at Shepard and she had stopped talking. He fought off the urge to start pacing, and tried to summon the words he wanted to say to no avail; his mouth was suddenly dry and all sense had abandoned him.

Shepard had noticed something was wrong, and she sat up attentively. He tried to find the words again, and after a brief silence he spoke.

 “Shepard, I was doing some research into human...”It sounded stupid to him, he couldn’t find the right words but it was too late now, he had already started and it only made sense to finish. “Human relationships, and I read about something, and I think we turians do something and so...” He broke off and looked at Shepard for a response, but her face was impassive. Garrus shook his head, and decided to try a different approach. He recalled what EDI had said when he asked for advice and started again, trying to keep his expression as frank and open as possible.

 “Shepard... I’ve known you for some time now. We’ve done the highs and the lows, and I wanted you to know that every single moment of it, well, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I remember when I first joined the Normandy, and I was so eager at the opportunity to take Saren down. And I remember you showing me how sometimes the ends don’t always justify the means. Fighting by your side opened my eyes, and I realised that I still had- still have- much to learn.  And then I remember losing you, and I think that was the worst feeling of all. Waking up everyday knowing you weren’t there was hell. Without you, the galaxy felt too empty. Then you show up on Omega two years later, I figured there were only two possibilities for it: I had been shot, or you had decided death was too boring and kicked it in the face.”

Garrus looked to Shepard, and was relieved to see she was doing the little half smile she did.

“So when you told me about your suicide mission, I figured I would rather follow you into Hell than go back to living whatever half life I was before. Plus you still had space for the battle scarred all round badass on your team.”

Shepard almost laughed at that, and Garrus was finding the words were almost coming out of their own accord.

“So now, we survived Saren, we survived Sovereign, and we survived the Collectors. And I want you to know that whatever is out there I’m always going to watch your six, because after losing you once... I don’t know if I could do it again. I want you to know I love you Shepard. You are the strongest, bravest and most amazing woman I have ever met, if not the best sniper. And before we go face whatever thing is out there next, I want you to promise me you will make it. And there’s something else I’d like for you to promise to.”

Garrus tried to remember how this was done in the vids he had seen, and almost tripped as he tried getting down on one knee.

“Commander Shepard, you are the most important woman in my life and I want to ask: would you... would you marry me?” Garrus’ voice distorted over the unfamiliar word, he understood it was like a turian bonding ceremony with more traditions, but beyond that he had little knowledge. Quickly as he remembered the other thing the vids had always included, he produced a small metal band from his pocket and held it out towards her. It was a fairly simple ring, a slender band of platinum as he understood the tradition was. Instead of a gem, there was an inscription engraved along the surface. _Near or far, I will always find you._

Garrus searched Shepard’s face, panicking as he heard no response. Shepard was still sitting, but now on the floor, and her eyes were overflowing with tears.

“Did I do it wrong? Shepard? Talk to me Shepard, I’m sorry.” Garrus internally berated himself; of course he would mess it up. Just as he was ready to go, Shepard leant forward and grasped his face, tender yet firmly.

“No, Garrus. That was perfect. Happy tears.” She gave a watery smile and kissed him; gentle at first, but then with increasing force as her grip pulled him in closer. He responded in kind and returned the kiss with equal parts need and desperation, tracing those beautiful curves with gentle hands, being careful not to harm her with his talons. She closed any gap remaining between their bodies, and the press of her warmth drove him wild. He felt intoxicated by her familiar scent, a combination of gun polish, a slight sweat and something he couldn’t name, but distinctly Shepard. Her hands began caressing the sensitive skin on the back of his head under his fringe as she deepened the kiss stimulating a growl of pleasure from deep within his chest. Shepard abruptly pulled away, gasping for breath, and his skin felt cold at the sudden loss of contact.

“So I guess that’s a yes then?” Garrus’ voice was thick with emotion and there was a significant distortion in his harmonics.

“Yes, Garrus. A thousand times, yes.” Shepard laid a series of kisses along his jaw line, eyes still glistening.

“The ring, I just want you to know, it’s my promise to you. No matter what, if I ever lost you again, I would cross the entire galaxy to find you. I will always find you.”

**Author's Note:**

> There is a part two!... sitting on my laptop while I procrastinate editing it. Probably will put it up.


End file.
